I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally lighted miniature buildings comprising holiday displays, and more particularly to a tool for retrieving a light bulb holder from the interior of the building when it has been inadvertently inserted totally through the opening in which the light bulb holder is intended to be mounted.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
During the Christmas holiday season, people often decorate their homes with miniature ceramic or plaster buildings, commonly having a Victorian motif. Such a village may include church structures, train depots, houses, shops that are arranged to create a nostalgic winter scene. The buildings typically include a circular aperture in a rear wall thereof into which is fitted a bulb holder. When the bulb is illuminated, light exits windows and the like on the sides and front walls of the building.
The bulb holder generally comprises a somewhat cylindrical bulb socket and a pair of flat spring clips affixed to the socket on opposite side surfaces thereof. Each of the spring clips includes a pair of notches that extend inwardly from opposed side edges thereof that are intended to cooperate with the edge surface defining the circular opening through which the bulb is intended to pass. By compressing the leaf springs toward one another and inserting the bulb and socket through the circular opening in the building wall and then releasing the leaf spring members when the notches are juxtaposed with the opening in the wall surface, the force of the springs securely anchors the bulb and light socket within the interior of the building being illuminated.
A certain amount of care and dexterity are required when installing the light assembly within the building. If appropriate care is not taken, it is possible to totally insert the bulb, socket and leaf spring members through the opening and into the interior of the building. Now, when the leaf spring members are no longer compressed, they spread to a size that exceeds the diameter of the circular opening in the building wall, making it difficult to again retrieve the lighting assembly from the inside of the building.
Many of the buildings used in the holiday decorative scenes have become collector's items and tend to be quite expensive. Accordingly, care must be exercised in attempting to remove a light fixture that has fallen into the interior of the building so as to not mar or chip the building in any way. In the past, attempts to remove the light fixture inadvertently inserted too far into the building with needle-nose pliers or the like have been less than successful because of the propensity to damage the building structure in the effort to retrieve the light and light holder from the building.
For the foregoing reasons, a need exists for a tool or instrument that will facilitate retrieval of a light holder assembly from the interior of a miniature building structure in a way that will not cause damage to the building structure. The present invention fulfills such a need.